Semaphore blade



INVENOR 77' fl, QM

ATroRN W. H. B. LAVARACK SEMAPHORE BLADE Filed Feb. 28, 1924 Aug. 11, 1925.

ILI 1 Patented Aug. 11, 1925.

'UNITED' STATES 1,548,844 VArat Fees.

WILLIAM H. E. LAvARAcmOE HAvERsTRAW, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR To RAILROAD ,l

ACCESSORIES CORPORATION, OE NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION oF NEW YORK.

SEMAPIIORE BLADE.

Application led February 28, 1924. Serial No. 695,661.-

4 T0 all whom tmafg/ concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. B. LAVA- RACK, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Haverstraw, county of Rock- 5 land, and State of New York, have invented a new and yuseful Semaphore Blade, lof which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway signalling and particularly to semaphores and more especially to what are known as semaphore blades.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device serving as a semaphore blade and support therefor which will be eX- tremely simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture, install and maintain.

Other objects and advantageswill appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the in.- vention progresses, and the novel features of the invention will be particularly point ed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention inv detail and the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing, wherein I have illust-rated a particular preferred physical embodiment of my invention, and wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 a front elevational view of a semaphore blade embodying my invention; Fig. 2, is a bottom olan view of the device as shown by Fig. 1; Fig. 3, is a cross sectional view on the plane indicated by the line III- III of Fig. 2 viewed in the direction as indicated by the arrows at the ends of the line.

Applicants new and improved semaphore blade is particularly adapted for use as what are known as dwarf blades, that is, semaphore blades which are attached to and supported by operating mechanism situated between two parallel trackways. In such situations the 'blade is supported not more than two or three feet from the ground and must be of a. length such that it does not project i into and beyond the clearance of the equipment which is operated upon the trackway. As the available space is extremely limited in which these dwarf signal blades are often placed and as .the Operating mechanism is not always positioned exactly the same 'distance from the gauge line of a rail, it is necessary at times in order to bring a blade within the available space to shift what might be called its center of rotation or oscillation. This necessity requires that the semaphore blade should preferably be so made, that is, without any alterations on the ground, maybe assembled with its supportso as to oscillate on that center which is such that both its ends will be within the available clearance space.

In the drawing, Fig. l illustrates a dwarf semaphore blade designated l. This blade as shown is preferably tapered, being` somewhat wider at one end than it is at the other end. In the form shown -the blade is made of a. single piece of sheet metal by bending the longitudinal sides downwardly as viewed in Fig. l, so that as shown best by Fig. 3, the sides as 2 and 3 make an angle somewhat less than a right angle with the underside of the blade l as shown in Fig. 3 that is, with the back of the blade. The construction as shown makes the blade substantially a tapered channel and in the preferred form the face of the blade is enamelled so as to pre-vent as much as possible the adherence of dirt and soot to the face of the blade so asto obscure the color thereof which is `generally an arrestive color suchas white, red or yellow.

In order to support this semaphore blade upon the operating mechanism so that irrespective of the distance of the operating mechanism from the gauge of the adjacent rail, the Iblade will still be within the clearance space available, the applicant has formed the orifices as at, 5, 6 and 7 in one channel side and corresponding orifices aligning in the other channel side. These orifices serve to receive fastening means preferably bolts as' 8 and 9 and serve to attach to the blade a U shaped member l0` as best shown in Fig.

The orifices l, 5, 6 and 7 may be considered to be formed in pairs as 4 and 5, 5 and 6, and 6 and 7. The U shaped member 10 may be attached by the bolts as 8 and 9 so as to be positioned at the pairs l and 5 or 5 and 6 or 6 and 7 so that three different centers of oscillation of the blade l are provided So that the blade l may be positioned so as to be properly placed in the clearance space.

The U shaped member l() is formed of a single piece of preferably metal of suitable Weight and is of such rigidity that the sides thereof 11 and l2 may be fairly readily caused to approach or recede from one another so that the tivo-,legs or sides l1 and 12 of the. U shaped member may be made to tit snugly against the sides 2 and 3 regardless of the position of the member 1Q longitudinally of the blade l.

The U shaped member 10 as isvvell understood, is supported in any of the usual or appropriate manners on an operating mechanism and applicant has indicated the oritices 13 and M as serving for this purpose although it is not meant to exclude the use or one orifice only positioned centrally oi the U shaped ,memben Although I have particularly described the construction of one physical embodiment ot my invention, and explained the operation and principle thereof, nevertheless, I I desire to have it understood that the form selected is merely illustrative, but does not exhaust the possible physical embodiments of the idea ot' means underlying my invention.

lWhat I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. In a semaphore blade, in combination; a single sheet of metal formed into a channel and formed with a plurality of paired orifices in one channel side aligning with a like plurality in the other channel side and a substantially U shaped support formed Wit-h paired orilices in one leg and a similar aligned pair in the other leg and means whereby the support may be attached to the channel at any one of the paired orifices.

2. In a semaphore blade, in combination; asingle piece of sheet material formed into an approximate channel longitudinally tapered; ai substantially U shaped support and means for attaching the support to the sheet material at any one of a plurality of positions longitudinally of the sheet material.

3. In a semaphore blade, in combination; a single piece of sheet material formed -into an approximate channel longitudinally ta-z pered; a support and means for attaching. the support to the sheet material at any one of a plurality of positions longitudt nally of the sheet material.

et. As a semaphore blade a sheet or metal formed throughout its length into a substantially somewhat longitudinally tapered channel supported solely by the channel sides.

5. As a semaphore blade, a single sheet oi metal formed into a substantially somewhat tapered channel having the channel sides bent to 'form somewhat less than a right angle With the bottom of the channel said sides forming a sole means for supporting the blade.

is a semaphore blade, a single sheet of metal formed into a substantially somewhat tapered channel having the channel sides bent to form somewhat less than a right angle with the bottom oi the channel, `said sides being formed with orifices for attachment and a substantially U-shaped member forming the sole means of support joined by means of said orilices.

7. In a semaphore blade, a support, anch Cil a channel formed with means for attaching the support at a plurality of positions lon-l gitudinally of the channel..

WILLIAM H. B. LAVARACK. 

